I never thought I’d be quoting The New York Post about the Gaza war yet here I go…
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan lauded President Biden’s “disciplined approach” to foreign policy that “reduces the risk of new Middle Eastern conflict” in sections of a [foreignaffairs.com] magazine essay — which were helpfully edited out of the online version.
[…]
“The Israeli-Palestinian situation is tense, particularly in the West Bank, but in the face of serious frictions, we have de-escalated crises in Gaza and restored direct diplomacy between the parties after years of its absence,” Sullivan wrote in one passage edited out of the online article.
When Biden, 80, assumed the presidency, “US troops were under regular attack in Iraq and Syria,” Sullivan wrote in the print version, later adding, “Such attacks, at least for now, have largely stopped.”
[…]
“Indeed, although the Middle East remains beset with perennial challenges, the region is quieter than it has been for decades,” Sullivan wrote in another section scrapped from the online version.
“The progress is fragile, to be sure. But it is also not an accident. At a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last year, the president set forth his policy for the Middle East in an address to the leaders of members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. His approach returns discipline to U.S. policy. It emphasizes deterring aggression, de-escalating conflicts, and integrating the region through joint infrastructure projects and new partnerships, including between Israel and its Arab neighbors. And it is bearing fruit,” he added.